Court of Appeals affirms hospital immunity in physician peer review litigation and award of attorney fees under Washington Peer Review Act.
On April 22, 2010, the Division III Court of Appeal affirmed that a hospital appropriately terminated a physician’s medical staff privileges and affirmed the award of substantial attorneys fees associated with the lawsuit. The physician had challenged the termination in a suit against a hospital, its medical staff, a now-defunct competitor group practice, and various individual physicians. He initially filed suit in federal court, alleging antitrust violations, but his federal claims were soon dismissed with prejudice, a decision affirmed by the Ninth Circuit last year (click here to read more). His state court case sought damages and reinstatement of his privileges. The Court of Appeals affirmed that the hospital was immune from damages liability under the federal Health Care Quality Improvement Act (HCQIA), and that his state common law claims were barred because the Washington State Peer Review Act, RCW 7.71 et seq., provides the exclusive remedy for physicians aggrieved by adverse peer review actions. That statute limits physicians to seeking lost wages and injunctive relief, and also provides mandatory fee shifting for the prevailing party. In prevailing, the Defendants were awarded $386,000 in trial court attorney fees plus their fees on appeal. The Court of Appeals also ruled that a hospital medical staff may not be sued as an entity separate from its hospital, as the doctor named the hospital’s medical staff as a separate defendant.

For more information about this case, please contact David Robbins or Renee Howard, who led the defense team at (206) 622-5511.